DES MOINES, Iowa – Shaken but never broken, the Drake men's basketball team pulled out a thrilling victory to get back to .500 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
Okku Federiko scored the go-ahead basket on a perfectly executed pick-and-roll with Jaehshon Thomas and Thomas added a late free throw as the Bulldogs rallied time after time to beat Indiana State 74-72 at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
Drake (8-7 overall, 2-2 MVC) trailed by as many as eight points after a big Indiana State run that included a seven-point possession in the first half and was down 72-69 with under 2 minutes remaining before making the plays it needed at both ends of the floor.
 
Federiko's putback cut the lead to 72-71 with 1:54 to play and the Bulldogs got it back on a turnover. After a timeout, Thomas and Federiko worked one of the game's most basic plays to produce the seventh lead change of the second half with 1:08 left, putting Drake up 73-72.
 
With a chance to widen the lead, Drake's Eli Shetlar missed a 3-point shot, but the Bulldogs got it right back when Federiko intercepted a pass into the lane.  Thomas was fouled as he pushed the ball up the floor and converted the first shot of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 10.3 seconds to go.  He missed the second, leading to a flurry of action as the clock wound down.
 
Indiana State's Camp Wagner misfired from deep and in the battle for the rebound, the ball went off Drake and out of bounds with four-tenths of a second left. Drake coach Eric Henderson then inserted the Bulldogs' tallest player, 7-foot Isaiah Carr, and it paid off. The inbounds pass came in to 6-10 Derek Vorst and Carr blocked his shot as time expired, ending a tense affair that resulted in a well-earned victory for the Bulldogs.
 
Thomas returned after missing the previous game with an illness and made his presence felt, scoring 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and adding three rebounds, three assists and a steal. He's averaging 17 points in the three Valley games he has played.
 
Jalen Quinn led the Bulldogs with 18 points and five assists, his 13th game scoring in double figures. Andrew Alia was solid throughout the afternoon with 10 points, including a pair of triples, and a career-high nine rebounds. Federiko finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals and Shetlar added 11, including three 3-pointers.
 
While Thomas' return gave the Bulldogs big lift, they'll be without another key member of the rotation, Wilguens Jr. Exacte, for some time because of a broken foot.
 
The Bulldogs shot 52.5 percent for the game – 59 percent in the second half – and picked up their defense down the stretch, holding Indiana State (8-8, 1-4) without a field goal in the game's final five  and a half minutes. Ian Scott's 18 points led the Sycamores, who cooled off after shooting 67 percent, including 7-for-11 from deep, in the game's first 17 minutes. They ended up at 45 percent and were hurt by 14 turnovers, which Drake turned into 19 points.
 
Alia drove to the hoop for the game's first points and the Bulldogs had things going their way for most of the opening half. Thomas' first bucket – a 3-pointer midway through the half – produced a 20-17 lead and an 8-2 run made up of baskets by Griffin Goodbary, Thomas, Quinn and Carr stretched the lead to 26-19. When Thomas buried a trey from the left wing, the Bulldogs led 29-21 with 6:36 left in the half.
 
Then the Sycamores caught fire, knocking down shot after shot on an 18-2 run that they finished with 13 straight points on just three possessions.
 
Drake was leading 31-26 when Jo Van Buggenhout hit a three from the right corner. Thomas was called for a foul inside as the ball dropped through the net and it was ruled a flagrant one. Scott made the two free throws, then drove for a dunk to complete a seven-point possession that put the Sycamores up 33-31.
 
Indiana State followed with back-to-back treys and Drake suddenly found itself trailing 39-31 with 3:23 left in the half. The Sycamores did not score again in the half, missing their final six shots, but Drake managed only a jumper from Quinn in that stretch to trail 39-33 at the break.
 
After two free throws hiked the lead to 41-33, Drake scored seven straight points to get back into it, finally pulling to a tie at 49 when Quinn sliced through the defense for a layup and took its first lead of the half, 51-50, when Quinn connected on a turnaround half-hook with 13:54 left. There were five more lead changes and three ties after that before Federiko delivered the go-ahead bucket.
 
"Super proud of our guys and our fans and I'll tell you what, the Knapp Center was on fire today," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "This is one that we can build on. Proud of how our guys were able to hang in there and celebrated each other. After Illinois State, I was pretty disappointed, especially in the second half, in our lack of physicality and lack of connectivity. We were able to get that turned around and it's important that we continue to do that."
 
Next up, Drake hits the road for a game at Bradley on Wednesday, Jan.7, tipping at 8 p.m., then will be back at the Knapp Center to play Belmont at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10.
 
Team Notes
—Drake improved its overall record to 8-7 including a 2-2 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—Drake shot 52.5 percent from the floor (31-59), including 59.3 percent (16-27) in the second half, improving to 4-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
—Drake forced Indiana State into 14 turnovers, scoring 19 points off those miscues.
—Drake tied a season low with just four made free throws.
—There were 10 lead changes and seven ties in the game.
—Okku Federiko scored four points in 46 seconds including the go-ahead basket with 1:08 left to give Drake a 73-72 lead.
—Drake rallied from a 39-33 halftime deficit to improve its record to 2-7 when trailing at half.
—Drake had five players score in double figures for the sixth time this season
 
Player Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, including 12 in the second half, while collecting two steals.
—Senior guard Jaehshon Thomas, who missed Drake's previous game against Illinois State because of illness, had 16 points including 10 in the first half.
—Okku Federiko collected 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
—Eli Shetlar, making just his second start of the season, scored 11 points. Shetlar began his collegiate career at Indiana State in 2023-24.
—Redshirt junior guard Andrew Alia chipped in with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds which was also his career high.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, suffered a foot injury earlier in the week and missed his first game of the season.
 
The Series
—Drake won its fourth straight game against Indiana State, improving its lead in the series to 54-49 including a 35-13 record in Des Moines.